Category Archives: Reviews

Introduction

I’m going to go ahead and admit something that many 24-year-old males of any standing in society (of which I have very little; I mean who do I think I am, Rod Stewart?) would traditionally be too embarrassed to reveal in the public domain: I still love Pokemon. From the days of picking up my original Gameboy (no colour in sight) and spending ridiculous numbers of consecutive hours on Pokemon Red and Blue to the graphically-enhanced, multi-dimensional Pokemon Black and White Version 2 that take advantage of the full spectrum of colour, I still enjoy the merry hell out of it. I’m hoping that I’m not alone on my passion for pocket monsters, since I’ve recently wrapped my oculars around the very informative ‘Pokemon Handbook’. Since the whole essence of Pokemon is to catch and train, it makes sense to gather as much information as possible about the kinds of creatures that are out there, their possible advantages to your adventure and indeed the very nature and origin of each and every one. The Pokemon handbook brings all this information together in one simply-written, fully-illustrated, fully-informed, and (perhaps most importantly), fully-alphabetical work of informative literature, and today I’m delving into its efficacy as a source of Pokemon information.Continue reading Pokemon Ultimate Handbook – A Literary Review (of sorts)→

Introduction

If I were to tell you that I wasn’t all that interested in Pokémon, this would be a lie of such unbelievably expansive magnitude that even the mere utterance of it would twist my conscience into such disrepair as to kill it entirely (poor Jiminy Cricket, he only ever wanted the best for me). I grew up with Pokémon – and by this I mean the games and not a psychotic imagining of the creatures themselves – and with each generation that passes I somehow love it even more than I did the previous. It therefore won’t come as a surprise to anyone that I am a fan of the various Pokédex-related products out there.

Pikachu is probably one of the most widely-recognised names of all the fictional characters of the modern age, which is almost certainly a direct result of the immense popularity of the Pokémon franchise. Trading Cards, Movies, long-running cartoons, and a hugely successful video game series: you name it, they have it.

Introduction

Before the release of Pokémon Black and White Version 2, I could have been described as somewhat of a disillusioned fan of the Pokémon franchise. Having once been a devotee of the Generation I games, I would spend literally hours on end with a Gameboy Colour in my hands, an intensive stare in my eye and ‘catch ‘em all’ spirit burning firmly in my heart. I would eventually amass days upon days of active gameplay, complete the games with a heavy sigh that indicated a mixture of relief and what I like to refer to as “finisher’s anguish” and simply wait for the next games to be released. Even though release day finally arrived for the second generation of games, my spirit for the game had long since waned, surrendering to feelings of disappointment, scepticism, and downright indifference for all things Pokémon. Enter Pokémon Black Version 2, and all of this scepticism all but evaporated.

Lack of 3D gameplay doesn’t hold Pokémon Black Version 2 back one little bit, and it’s clear from the opening sequences that these newest sequels mean considerable business.